The technological innovation that powers water and wastewater treatment processes — like new membranes for produced water cleanup or desalination technology for stressed water systems — is largely what drives the industrial and municipal treatment industries forward.

Residents of an Iowa town were told not to drink their tap water this month when dangerous levels of manganese were found in the supply. And most concerning may be the fact that nobody seems sure how long the contamination has been affecting residents.

While pervasive drought in the American Southwest continues to present myriad problems for local water systems, it is also a dynamic opportunity — at least for private companies looking to capitalize on the scarcity.

In a nod to just how important water quality has become for Lake Erie — a source body that has been plagued by toxic algal blooms for years — locals have decided to grant it the type of legal rights usually reserved for human beings.